Mass Effect - Shadow of Death
by ShameTheRedRose
Summary: The Vorcha mafia, 5000 credits and a bottle of whisky. P.S. Don't worry. I don't intend to leave it at this. ;)


Mass Effect

Shadow of Death

Curiosity

"I had a lot of fun at the party, Shepard. I'm glad you put it on." Liara said, taking a seat at the small desk beside her bed. Shepard sat on the edge of the bed her hands clasped around a wine glass with elbows on her knees. She smiled.

"So am I. I thought it was great fun - more than I bargained for. Did I tell you Garrus and Zaeed booby trapped the place?" Shepard said. Liara smiled affectionately and laughed, relaxing back into her seat.

"I wondered about that…"

"You knew?"

"I knew they were up to something. I didn't know what." Shepard sighed.

"They booby-trapped the broom cupboard in the kitchen. I opened the damn thing and nearly got a face-full of confetti. I hit the floor so quick it missed. And you should have seen how fast Kaidan came running. He saw me on the floor confused, covered in confetti and couldn't stay standing he was laughing so hard…I keep opening things carefully, wondering what _else_ is waiting for us to find." Shepard said, grinning and laughing as she spoke. Her laughter trailed off as she took in a breath to take a drink of the Thessian wine Liara had offered when she came to visit her 'office'. Liara was flushed and laughing in a way life rarely afforded them the luxury to. Shepard looked over to the desk and saw a framed print of the group photo they had taken.

"I wish _that_ was in your time capsule." Shepard said. Liara glanced back at the photo.

"I disagree with you. I…it wouldn't feel as special if it was. The time we spend together is ours, Shepard. It belongs to us. _No one else_. And certainly not to history. That's the way it should be."

"Memories that are ours, and should stay ours alone…I guess we all have them." Liara's eyes went wide. She sighed.

"We do, but you're thinking of something particular, Shepard." Liara observed. Shepard sighed, looking away.

"After the clone's first try at killing me, Kaidan made an odd comment about 'the Vorcha mafia, 5000 credits and a bottle of whisky' and after a second thought didn't want to tell me about it. I thought we could talk about anything…and I can't keep it out of my head…I wondered if you kept an eye on him – before I woke up." Shepard said letting out a hesitant breath. Liara shook her head. She fixed Shepard with an assessing gaze. Shepard frowned as a chill crawled up her back.

"You know what I'm talking about." Liara nodded. She booted up her secondary omni-tool. Moments later Shepard's sounded out a series of high-pitched beeps. Shepard put an eyebrow up, regarding Liara intently.

"It's a video record of his debriefing, following the incident." Liara stated.

"Have you seen it?"

"Yes…I felt…obligated. I knew how much he meant to you. Shepard, perhaps you should take that into consideration before you watch it." Shepard stayed silent, her eyes fixed on her omni-tool. A small blinking indicator signaled the file was available to view. Letting her shoulders down some, she rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm going to go." Shepard said. Liara nodded.

"I'm glad you stopped in," she stated gently. Shepard smiled and nodded, leaving Liara and Glyph to their work.

"Me, too. Thanks for the drink."

Deck 1

Shepard seated herself at her personal terminal in her cabin. She activated her secondary omni-tool and synced it with her terminal's display. Opening the file, she watched as static became a clear image. The interviewer walked into the room, silent, seated himself and set a datapad between Kaidan and himself on the desk. He read from it.

"Major Kaidan Reid Alenko. Assignment Sierra Romeo - Delta 20 - 4719. Post-mission debrief. Major, you were scheduled to make contact 56 hours prior to when you re-established communication." Kaidan let a wince show that would have looked like an angry twitch to anyone who didn't know it. Kaidan's response was incredulous.

"You've been handed the gate keys to a slave trafficking ring and you're _here_ asking me a question like _that_?" Kaidan growled.

"Falling out of contact for that long looks suspicious, Major. Especially when the first thing you do after showing up again, is shoot another Alliance officer. You were tasked with gathering intelligence on key figures inside the organization. And it _looks_ like you went in too deep. So…how did you spend those 56 hours?" the interrogator asked. Kaidan flicked his lighter open, lit it and snapped it closed.

"Learning to breath underwater."

Shepard's eyes went wide when the camera angle snapped to a different view. It showed Kaidan clearly. The man in his seat looked like little more than a…shrunken husk…of the man she knew before and now. She paused the video, her heart racing. She was afraid.

 _Thinking you were dead…it tore me apart…_

Her eyes were wide, taking in every detail. The way he didn't fill out the clothing he wore. Sunken cheeks and eyes. Tattoos. His cowed posture. The nervous twitch of his thumb. Bandages on one hand. Short-cropped hair with patches carved out. His usual five o'clock shadow was a few days old. This wasn't time he didn't trust her with. It was time he trusted her to leave to him. Two swift keystrokes and a confirmation dialog displayed on screen. Shepard confirmed the action.

Her omni-tool read every bit in the file, erased and securely overwrote them, from start to end…


End file.
